Berry Wendell

Gary Snyder once said, “Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.” People today seem to think of nature as something separate from themselves. People seem to think that what they do to nature does not affect them. In reality, we are all a part of nature. Everything we do has an effect on both us and the environment around us. American poet, essayist, and novelist, Wendell Berry, has a view on nature that is quite similar to Gary Snyder’s.

I just recently discovered Wendell Berry and all his insight. He was first brought to my attention one fateful day in my class. My teacher had my classmates and I watch a video of an interview that Wendell Berry had participated in. I was quickly blown away by his powerful and riveting words about life, love, and nature. He spoke of his disgust of capitalism. He insisted that to make a living is to have enough and that you should not live at the expense of other creatures. He told his audience to learn all you can about where you are. Last but not least, he spoke of hope.

 I am going to share with you a poem I think will open your eyes to what’s going on in the world around us. The poem is titled ‘Those who use the world assuming’ from one of Wendell’s many books, Leavings Poems.

“Those who use the world assuming

their knowledge is sufficient

destroy the world. The forest

is mangled for the sale

of a few sticks, or bulldozed

into a stream and covered over

with the earth it once stood

upon. The stream turns foul,

killing the creatures that once

lived in it. Industrial humanity,

a alien species, lived by death.

In the clutter of facts, the destroyers

leave behind them one big story,

of the world and the worlds end,

that they don't know. They know

names and little stories. But the names

of everything are not everything.

The story of everything, told,

is only a little story. They don't know

the languages of birds

who pass northward, feeding

through the treetops early

in May, kept alive by knowledge

never to be said in words.

Hang down your head. This is our hope. Words emerge

from silence, the silence remains.”

Through this poem, Wendell illuminates how people have the belief that they have the right to everything and anything, and then accentuates how such a belief is destroying the world.  He is challenging the idea that we as humans should have total domination of the world around us. He addresses the environmental problems we are facing today. As well as encourages us to respect the integrity of the other than human world.

Wendell Berry’s words have been etched into my mind. If you have not heard of Wendell, I highly recommend you read some of his work. I recommend the incredible poem, ‘Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.’ As well as the cautionary poem, ‘A Warning to My Readers.’